By Christie DeBernardis & Jessica Martini
LEXINGTON, KY–Demand remained high as did the competition for quality individuals, both mares and weanlings, as Book 2 of the Keeneland November Sale concluded with its second of two sessions Wednesday.
The third day of selling at Keeneland was highlighted by the million-dollar sale of GSW Proud Emma (Include). In foal to Charlatan, the chestnut was purchased by Jane Lyon of Summer Wind Farm, who also purchased Tuesday's $1.45-million session topper Park Avenue (Quality Road). Proud Emma will visit Lyon's homebred superstar Flightline (Tapit), whose fee was announced at $200,000 partway through Wednesday's action. Proud Emma marks the third seven-figure transaction of Book 2, which previously had not seen a million-dollar horse since 2017.
“Some of the owners of Flightline, and Life Is Good, are investing in young fillies and broodmares to send to their stallions,” said Keeneland's Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. “We are coming off an exciting Breeders' Cup. It is a deep bench that is retiring this year. A lot of breeders are looking to improve their broodmare band and freshen up their portfolio, both on a domestic and international stage. It has been very, very healthy.”
During the two Book 2 sessions, 424 horses sold for $77,092,000. The average of $181,821 increased 13.5% from a year ago and the median of $150,000 was up 15.4%. Three horses sold for seven figures and there were 16 who sold for $500,000 or more. In 2021, six horses hit that mark and the section's top price was $725,000.
The 2021 Book 2 section of the November sale saw 489 horses gross $78,321,000 for an average of $160,166 and a median of $130,000.
“I think people are willing to keep going on horses that they feel have the quality they are looking for,” Lacy said. “When they find the mares and weanlings that fit the profile that they want, they keep going. Jane Lyon was pretty bullish today on that one. That was great.”
Proud Emma's covering sire Charlatan has made a name for himself in the sales ring this week. He was the session's leading covering sire with 11 mares carrying his first foals grossing $4.005 million and averaging $364,091.
“Charlatan is a very exciting horse,” said Cormac Breathnach, Keeneland's Director of Sales Operations. “He showed a ton of speed on the track and speed that could carry. With the sire line and his pedigree and the mares he has been bred to, he is showing the signs of being a successful commercial horse and that is what a lot of people are looking for at this sale. We expected them to be well received.”
Weanlings were also in high demand Wednesday, topped by a $500,000 Gun Runner colt (Hip 976), who is destined for resale next year after being purchased by Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo's AAA Thoroughbreds.
Fifteen weanlings sold for $300,000 or over during the 2022 Book 2 section of the November sale, led by a $550,000 son of Gun Runner who sold Wednesday. During the two sessions, 165 weanlings sold for $23,056,000, for an average of $139,733–up 7.3% from a year ago–and a median of $120,000, which was up 20% from 2021.
In 2021, 12 Book 2 weanlings sold for $300,000 or over. A total of 183 foals sold during the section for a gross of $23,838,000. The average was $130,262 and the median was $100,000.
“There was a huge appetite for the quality weanlings overall,” said Lacy. “A lot of pinhookers made good money in September and were reinvesting. That sector of the market really increased today, which was great to see. There was a lot of enthusiasm and competitive bidding on those better individuals. I think you will hopefully find that trend continue through the rest of the sale.”
The Keeneland November Sale continues through Wednesday, Nov. 16, with sessions beginning at 10 a.m. It is followed by Keeneland's November Horses of Racing Age Sale Nov . 17.
Another Emma for Summer Wind
Summer Wind Farm, already the home of Littleprincessemma (Yankee Gentleman), dam of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, added another Emma to its broodmare band when Jane Lyon bid an even million dollars to acquire graded stakes-winner Proud Emma (Include) (hip 876) from the Bedouin Bloodstock consignment Wednesday at Keeneland.
“We saw an awfully pretty mare that we think Flightline will like,” Lyon said of the mare's appeal. “We were trying to find mares that we thought, both physically and pedigree-wise, would fit him.”
The 6-year-old Proud Emma is out of the unraced Debutante Dreamer (Proud Citizen), a full-sister to graded-placed Cousin Stephen. She won the 2020 GIII Bayakoa S. and was second in the 2021 GIII Rancho Bernardo H.
SF Bloodstock purchased Proud Emma for $275,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton November and put her in foal to first-season sire Charlatan.
“She was a very striking mare,” SF Bloodstock's Tom Ryan said. “She is a beautiful physical and she obviously had tons of ability. We felt that she was a durable, sound mare.”
Ryan continued, “The plan at the time was to bring her back to the marketplace. We had options [for the covering sire], but when we got home and sat down to work through it, we felt Charlatan was a perfect physical for the mare.”
Of Proud Emma's seven-figure price tag, Ryan said, “Summer Wind is a very calculating outfit and they can see the same thing that we see. This is the kind of mare that could produce a commercial animal that we could see in Saratoga in a couple of years. And then she may not look that expensive.”
Mares in foal to Charlatan were in demand in the Keeneland sales ring, with Proud Emma leading the way.
Charlatan, who was a $700,000 Keeneland September Yearling purchase in 2018, raced for the stallion-making partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Fred Hertrich, John Fielding and Golconda Stables. He won the 2020 GI Arkansas Derby and GI Malibu S. before concluding his career with his lone loss when second in the 2021 Saudi Cup. He stands at Hill 'n' Dale for a fee of $50,000.
“Charlatan is one of the most brilliant horses we've ever had anything to do with,” Ryan said. “He's a beautiful physical animal, but his athletic ability was extraordinary. With his ability to quicken, he was electric. We really felt that he was a horse that would be in high demand with his first pregnancies and I think today was a representation of that.”
Through three sessions of the November sale, 22 mares have sold in foal to Charlatan for an average of $338,636.
“He is a son of Speightstown and he was a brilliant horse,” Ryan said of Charlatan's appeal. “I think his race record and his physical make-up is exactly what people are looking for in the commercial market that we live in today.” @JessMartiniTDN
Whimsical Dance a Sentimental Purchase for Anderson
As the third session of the Keeneland November sale neared its conclusion Wednesday, Canadian breeder Dave Anderson struck to add a filly from the country's historic Sam-Son Farms to his broodmare band, going to $725,000 to acquire the 3-year-old Whimsical Dance (Distorted Humor) (hip 989).
“I've admired the Sam-Son operation my entire life growing up in Canada,” Anderson said. “I've just strived to be even remotely close to being as good a breeder as they've been. And this is a filly from their absolute best family. I took one look at her and it's just Distorted Humor over Giant's Causeway and it's all broodmare sires down to Dance Smartly. It's all something I really wanted to have in my program and this was the last stop for the Sam-Son train. I'm really thrilled to have her.”
A daughter of the unraced Danceforthecause (Giant's Causeway), Whimsical Dance is a half-sister to multiple graded winner Say the Word (More Than Ready) and graded winner Rideforthecause (Candy Ride {Arg}). Her third dam is the great Canadian champion Dance Smartly, who produced champion Dancethruthedawn.
Whimsical Dance has now won two of three starts at Woodbine. Anderson said the filly may continue her racing career.
“I am going to take a look at that,” he said. “I would obviously love to get some black-type on her somewhere. But at the end of the day, I bought her for her ovaries and she'll be a long-term mare in our program.”
Founded by the late Ernie Samuel some 50 years ago, Sam-Son Farm has dispersed nearly all of its stock in the last two years. The operation sold five mares Wednesday. In addition to Whimsical Dance, the Sam-Son bred Ladywearsthering (Uncle Mo) (hip 810) sold for $450,000 to Thomas Bachman's Fairview.
Anderson admitted Wednesday's purchase of one of the final mare's from the Sam-Son operation was a special one.
“My father died 12 years ago yesterday and he and Mr. Samuel were great friends and did a lot of business together over the years. It really is an emotional purchase for me for sure.” @JessMartiniTDN
Strong Showing For Indian Creek
Shack Parrish's Indian Creek consignment had a great day at Keeneland Wednesday, starting with the $700,000 sale of Zoikes (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) (Hip 618), who is set to return to Europe after being purchased by Jim Ryan. She is carrying a foal by Medaglia d'Oro.
“She was very well-received,” said Indian Creek's Sarah Sutherland. “It's a great cover for her, the Medaglia cross with Dubawi. She was sold for Bob Edwards or E Five Racing. They bought her as a yearling at Newmarket and campaigned her here. We're in the process of selling a few, buying a few and keeping our numbers in check. We were happy to bring her here and think she realized a good price.”
Edwards purchased Zoikes at TATOCT for 450,000gns and she won one of three starts on American soil. Out of SW & G1SP Glorious Sight (Singspiel), she is a half to MGSW GISP Glycon (Le Havre). This is also the family of MGSW Beauty Is Truth (Pivotal).
As Sutherland predicted after that sale, Indian Creek sparked fireworks again late in the session, selling a $500,000 Gun Runner colt (Hip 976) to Dean DeRenzo. DeRenzo and his partner Randy Hartley, who sign as AAA Thoroughbreds, also purchased an Authentic filly (Hip 885) from the Indian Creek consignment for $260,000.
Hartley and DeRenzo have been busy snapping up as many nice weanlings as they can get their hands on this week with plans to resell them as yearlings. They have been particularly keen on Gun Runners, snapping up a $675,000 filly and $550,000 colt by the red-hot sire at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale Sunday.
“I thought he was the best horse in the sale,” DeRenzo said. “I just love him. We bought our first Gun Runner, which was Taiba. He's done fantastic and he's not finished. Gun Runner's a horse I have never seen in my career and I think we've seen only the beginning of him. He's going to be bred to some amazing mares, and this was a really great mare. We're really excited. We'll send him home and let him grow up and see how things go and we'll go from there.”
Bred by Chisago Farm, the weanling colt is out of Twiga, a half-sister to MGSW Takeover Target (Harlan's Holiday) and SW Ladies' Privilege (Harlan's Holiday). This is also the family of MGISW Critical Eye.
“The colt has been well received the whole time,” Parrish said. “We only had three foals and they all did great. We can't complain. The guys at home did a great job. They all came from Indian Creek, so we know them like our own kids.”
Indian Creek sold 10 horses Wednesday for a total of $2.76 million and average of $276,000.
For us, it's been good, but I've seen spots. Of course, there were spots across town too. I think you really need to have nice foals here. They aren't playing in the mid-range yet. The right sire power is a big help.
—@CDeBernardisTDN
Collins Breaks Through for Message
Lincoln Collins admitted he had been shut out on several mares before finally breaking through to purchase Message (Warrior's Reward) (hip 839) for $675,000 on behalf of John Sykes's Woodford Thoroughbreds Wednesday at Keeneland.
“We finally got one,” Collins said with a laugh after signing the ticket on the 6-year-old mare who sold in foal to Charlatan.
Consigned by Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, Message was second in the 2020 GIII Bayakoa S. for Susan and Charlie's Baoma Corp.
“We are looking to upgrade all the time,” Collins said. “It was a lot of money, but she is an absolutely beautiful mare. I am sure the [covering] sire will be popular. And pedigree-wise, we can do pretty much anything we like.”
Collins pointed out that this year's GI Champagne S. winner Blazing Sevens (Good Magic) is, like Message, out of a Warrior's Reward mare.
“He is the sort of horse who is beginning to show life as a broodmare sire, so all of those things together made us push it absolutely to the limit.”
The popularity of mares in foal to Charlatan at Keeneland has been no surprise to Collins.
“He was a very, very good racehorse,” Collins said of the GI Malibu S. winner. “I think he will probably be one of the most popular first-season sires next year. And you know how the market is. It values youth over experience. Since we sell almost everything, it makes sense for us [to buy a mare in foal to a first-year stallion].”
Message was the first mare purchased by Woodford Thoroughbreds at Keeneland, but that wasn't for lack of trying.
“It's been very, very tough,” Collins said. “I've bid a lot of money on a lot of horses and not gotten anything until today. We went well past our limit on a number of them and still didn't get anything.” @JessMartiniTDN
Lake Garda Set For a Date With Flightline
Shortly after superstar Flightline's fee was announced at $200,000, Hunter Rankin purchased Lake Garda (American Pharoah) (Hip 812) for $600,000 on behalf of an undisclosed client with the GI Breeders' Cup Classic hero in mind. Consigned by Elite, the unraced4-year-old is in foal to Uncle Mo.
“She is a beautiful mare, obviously regally bred,” Rankin said. “I'm really excited for the owner. She is going to go to Flightline. He is really excited about her.”
He continued, “I thought it was a fair price. We thought she would do well in the market. It looked like she had a lot of action out there. She had all the pieces and parts and she is in foal to a great stallion and from a great family. We are really excited.”
Purchased by Cromwell Bloodstock for $550,000 as a weanling at the 2018 renewal of this auction, Lake Garda is a daughter of GSP blue hen Refugee (Unaccounted For). She is a half-sister to hard-knocking MGISW and young sire Hoppertunity (Any Given Saturday), MGISW Exectiveprivlege (First Samurai) and stakes winners Leader of Men (War Front) and Cowboy's Hero (Cowboy Cal).
“Lake Garda was just a beautiful mare,” said Elite's Liz Crow. “She came in prepped perfectly. She has a nice pedigree and a nice update, and she's in foal to Uncle Mo on a good cover. She was one of our most popular mares over the last three days. We feel like we had some nice physicals with nice pedigree pages here today. It all starts with the people who send us these horses. We have a great group of clients who entrust us to sell their horses. We always aim to put a nice Book 2 together. We bringing stakes-winning and stakes-placed, and graded stakes-winning and stakes-placed mares here. Our team works together months in advance and without their hard work we wouldn't have such a good day.” —@CDeBernardisTDN
Finding Fame to Gage Hill/Determined Stud Partnership
Terry Finley continued shopping for mares for recently retired Flightline (Tapit) Wednesday at Keeneland, going to $575,000 for the 5-year-old mare Finding Fame (Empire Maker) (hip 749). In foal to Constitution, the bay is a full-sister to stakes winner and multiple graded-placed Mei Ling.
“Shug McGaughey trained the mare and she had a lot of talent,” Finley said after signing the ticket in the name of Gage Hill and Matt Dorman's Determined Stud. “She's a lovely, big mare.”
Finding Fame, a $425,000 KEESEP yearling purchase in 2018, won twice in 10 starts for Gainesway Stable and Andrew Rosen. She was consigned Wednesday by Gainesway.
Of the mare's final price, Finley added, “We are obviously getting to the end of the ones that we are thinking about buying to send to Flightline. I think we knew that there were several significant players that were interested in her.”
Gage Hill, alone in or in partnership with Determined Stud, has purchased six mares at the November sale for $4.5 million. The partners went to $2 million to acquire Salty As Can Be (Into Mischief) (hip 154) during Monday's first session of the auction. @JessMartiniTDN
Stonehaven Reinvests at Keeneland
The Reddoch family's Stonehaven Steadings, run by the Reddoch's daughter Leah O'Meara and her husband Aidan, had a stellar September Sale and their hot streak continued here Tuesday when they sold a $1 million mare. They began to reinvest that money during Wednesday's session, topped by a $425,000 Gun Runner filly (Hip 844).
“She will be back here hopefully in September,” Aidan O'Meara said. “That's the plan at least, so we will see how it goes. She is a beautiful filly, a great representation of the sire with her scope and frame. She is a nice, classy type.”
The weanling filly was consigned by Paramount Sales on behalf of breeders Drumkenny Farm and American Equistock Inc. Out of Mighty Moon (Malibu Moon), the chestnut hails from the family of SW & GSP Green Lyons (Ire).
Hip 844's sire Gun Runner could not be hotter with four Grade I winners this year to add to the two he had last year in his first crop of 2-year-olds, one of which was champion Echo Zulu. Progeny of the Horse of the Year have been in high demand in the sales ring this year and his current weanlings were no exception. Six have sold through the first three days of KEENOV for $2.425 million with an average of $404,167.
“It is arguable, but it is probably the best start any stallion has had in the history of the breed,” said O'Meara. “It's been incredible. Some of the best opportunities in this business are the riding the wave of the success of these stallions. It is a lot of money for that filly, but she is as nice as any of those higher-priced ones that have come up here in the last few days.”
Stonehaven Steadings stellar season started at the September sale, where they sold a total of 18 yearlings for $8.188 million, including the sale-topping $2.5-million Quality Road colt now named Metro. During the Book 2 opener Tuesday, the operation sold Sweet Sami D (First Samurai), a mare they claimed for $65,000 and bred to Gun Runner, for $1 million.
“We have had a very fortunate year,” O'Meara said. “We are putting some of it back in the industry. The sale did encourage us, but you always have to be in control of what you're doing. We will try to build on the year we've had and try to keep it rolling. We've bought some nice mares here today as well and we have a very nice bunch of foals back at the farm. When we buy pinhooks, we aren't buying fixer uppers. We buy nice, high-quality types. Hopefully we come out here with a pretty nice draft.” —@CDeBernardisTDN
Brookdale Active On Both Sides of the Ledger For Not This Time
Early in Wednesday's session, Brookdale's Freddy Seitz went to $350,000 on behalf of a friend to acquire a filly by Not This Time (Hip 631). Then 118 hips later, the Seitz family's sale operation, led by Freddy's brother Joe Seitz, sold a colt by the Taylor Made stallion for $375,000 (Hip 749). Bred by Audley Farm, Hip 749 was purchased by Dudley Racing.
The chestnut filly was consigned by Gainesway on behalf of Alexander, Grove and Matz. Hip 631 is out of SW Analyze (Candy Ride {Arg}), a half-sister to GSW Far From Over (Blame) and GISP And Why Not (Street Cry {Ire}), who is the dam of MGSW Fearless (Ghostzapper). Carrying a foal by Hard Spun, Analyze followed her daughter into the ring, bringing $475,000 from Summer Wind Farm's Jane Lyon, which means she is likely headed to unbeaten sensation Flightline (Tapit) this spring.
“I was asked to sign the ticket on behalf of a friend,” Freddy Seitz said. “She's a beautiful filly. I liked the way she moved. Of course, with a Not This Time filly out of that family you can't ask for much more. She's by a hot sire and out of one of the best families in the U.S.”
Later in the day, Hip 749 stirred things up in the pavilion, summoning $375,000. The Virginia-bred is out of a half-sister to MGSW & MG1SP So Perfect (Scat Daddy).
“He's a big, scopey, huge walking horse with a beautiful appearance,” Joe Seitz said. “He came alive here. He has some interesting markings on him. There is a lot of uniqueness about him. He came from Audley Farm, a wonderful in Virginia and the same people who bred Bodemeister. His half-sister by Justify broke her maiden in her first start, so there is a lot of quality in a nice young family.” —@CDeBernardisTDN
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